


I Can Break These Cuffs (A Pokemon Y Randomized Nuzlocke)

by Uberle



Category: Pocket Monsters: X & Y | Pokemon X & Y Versions
Genre: Gen, Gijinka, He is Freak, Nuzlocke Challenge, randomized
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-13 20:41:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28784349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Uberle/pseuds/Uberle
Summary: Accused of a crime he didn't commit, Freak is a Being with the ability to mimic the powers of others living in a world of Gijinka. As a compromise he now wears restraints that limit the use of his power in exchange for being allowed to fight the Kalos gyms.His escort is Elly, a Togekiss who is not very happy with her new job. Together they will travel through Kalos while Freak earns badges and encounter very conspicuous people in red suits. But before we get to that, introductions are in order.





	1. I am Freak, yes.

Greetings, Challengers

This is an emergency message to address certain complaints that the Kalos League has been receiving.  
As many of you know, one of your fellow challengers is currently under arrest for a violent crime. Normally this would be grounds for disqualification, but that would only be the case if this challenger had been tried and found guilty, which has not yet happened. This means that said accused challenger will remain a challenger, which has caused many other challengers to be concerned for their safety.  
We would like to remind everyone that you are not allowed to drop your participation without justified reasoning and this does not qualify.  
The League does recognize that this is an issue that cannot go unresolved, so we have certain mandates in place. The accused challenger will be secured with specialized restraints provided by Lysandre Labs and a high-level Gym Monitor has been appointed as an escort for the accused. The League will also accept responsibility for any harm caused by the accused to any other challenger.  
Please trust that we have your safety as our top priority.  
You may contact the Kalos League for any further questions.

Thank you for participating in this Gym Challenge season.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Here’s the file.”  
Elly took the papers from the Boldore guard. She thought it would be bigger, but there were only around a dozen pages in the report. However, paper can only tell so much about a person, and she was here for a visit not a reading. “Take me to him.” She asked the guard.  
“Ma’am, I don’t think-”  
“Several people have told me what they thought, but I'm listening to my own thoughts instead. He’s been successfully detained, hasn’t he? He should pose no threat under the facility’s supervision, correct?”  
“No, of course not-”  
“So take me to him.” She had made up her mind and there was no reason to deny her, so the guard only nodded and allowed her to follow. She had to tuck her wings in uncomfortably to fit in the narrow hallways, but this visit wasn’t going to be long anyway. While they walked, Elly took a look at what few papers she was given. This was a one-of-a-kind case, and it just so happened that she wasn’t occupied with anything else when it was received. A gym challenger accused of murder. The league did have a rule against criminals participating, but this one technically wasn’t one yet. The Kalos League had more red tape than the International Police when concerning a challenger dropping out, so in he got to stay. So many challengers meant a limited number allowed each year, and if you got in nothing could get you out, short of a physical injury that made participating impossible. Elly flipped to the police report of the arrest and one thing caught her eye immediately. Well two things, but the first one she could ask the challenger himself about. “Why does the challenger’s species have a question mark next to it?” She pointed to the line on the paper.

Species: Ditto (?)

“Oh, that.” The guard spoke with slight uncertainty. “He’s shown that he’s capable of replicating the abilities of other Gijinka, even without the original present. It seems that his mimicry is permanent and he can recall the moves at any time.”  
“Then what’s keeping him from attacking with whatever is useful at the moment?”  
“Jump forward a couple pages.” She shuffled through and found what he meant. Cuffs that were made to contain a Gijinka’s power. With these the challenger was restricted to the number of moves he could use as dictated by the handler. So this would be her responsibility in a couple days. Great, just great. “Here he is.” The guard stopped in front of an iron door. No different from any of the others Elly had passed on her way here, but then again, these inhibitors would mean that he’s no different from any other inmate.  
“Open it.” She stood back as the guard unlocked the door and opened it for her. She stood behind the threshold to look at the figure lying on the bed, his hands holding a mask in place. The black cuffs were clearly visible on his wrists. After a second, a voice that sounded like it belonged to a lifelong smoker rattled out.  
“I can break these cuffs.” The guard started to close the door in panic, but Elly grabbed his arm to stop him and walked inside the cell, holding the report out for the prisoner to see.  
“Is this really your name?” The mouth of the mask, a wicked jagged toothed grin, glowed green as he spoke.  
“I am Freak, yes.”

==================================================

He heard two pairs of footsteps approaching. One definitely belonged to that Boldore guard, but the other was unfamiliar. Someone new, someone light. Well lighter, the other one was a literal rock mon after all. He adjusted his mask as the door opened. “I can break these cuffs,” There were sounds of a scuffle, but the door remained open and someone stepped through. A Togekiss, had to be with that white skin dotted with red and blue markings, wings, and blue/white/red hair. She held up a piece of paper with his mugshot.  
“Is this really your name?” Oh of course that was what she picked to focus on first. His name, always about the name, and never the crimes or the superpowers. Well being fair, he didn’t do the crimes and it seems everyone has superpowers here, so guess there wasn’t much else to look at.  
“I am Freak, yes.”  
“..... Freak.”  
“That is what I ask to be called.”  
“.... Ok then,” She said his name with a bit of skepticism, like she would play along but didn’t actually think that was what he was actually called. No one emotion stood out, so she hadn’t formed a proper opinion on him yet. Ok so that’s what he’d be dealing with. Not full stick up ass, but still at a good halfway point. Someone who preferred to look at things herself and not just trust words on the paper. A small amount of bias, but it seemed that she suspected something wasn’t right with that report. A bit insulting that He got labeled a Ditto, but it was close enough. He stared at the Togekiss for a bit, taking more notes on the fairy. Goggles on head for high speed flying, so probably liked to move at her own pace. A wind breaker with a regular t-shirt underneath. Pretty large wingspan, she probably hated having to keep them folded in by their shifting. And lastly, cargo pants. He cocked his head to one side while he wondered what she could be storing in all those pockets. Then he tilted his head the other way when his power’s passive kicked in and presented him with the copied powers of the Togekiss.  
“..... And you are... Gabrielle? Or is it pronounced the other way....”  
“How do you-”  
“Lonely Nature, not really the best, but not hindering anything important. OUCH, Hustle. RIP in peace Air Slash flinch hax.”  
“Where in Giratina’s unholy domain did you crawl out from?”  
“Hey, don’t bring Gira into this. The mon just wants to chill in their own dimension away from all you people.”  
“What- I- Wha-” Gabrielle turned back to the guard who only shrugged. Garbeille probably thought she would try to talk to Him thinking he was just a common killer. Nothing is common about Him. He took great pride in that. She regained her composer quickly and looked at him again with the expression of someone who only knew that they hated him. Perfect. It was the only way to have any fun, make sure everyone knew what He was about and then work on things from there. It didn’t matter what anyone thought of him. As long as it wasn’t thinking he was weak. If they thought that they would be proven very wrong very quickly.  
“Sooooooooo you gonna be the one holding my leash?”  
“.... I have been designated as your handler for your gym challenge. My job is-”  
“To make sure I don’t have fun, I know. Look I am here, in these things, and currently being prosecuted for something I didn’t do. Seriously I have so much other stuff, but the bit you people double down on is the bit where I am innocent. Honestly it takes the fun out of things when I’m being punished for a bad I didn’t do.”  
“Wait, what else have you done?”  
“You got a millennium?”  
“Ignore him. He says stuff like that all the time, but there’s no evidence of any of it.” That guard just had to ruin the fun. Not his fault if no one picked up on His confessions. Just another annoyance to be tolerated. But when it paid off in the utter confusion and chaos of emotions He sensed in Gabrielle, it reminded him of why he puts up with it.  
“Sooooooooooooooooo, got anything else?”  
“.... I’ll talk more once we meet up to officially begin the challenge in a few days. In the meantime I recommend you prepare yourself. At the opening ceremony you’ll be getting a lot of negative press.”  
She started making her way out of his cell as he let out a laugh.  
“It’s all I ever get, Gabrielle!”  
“It’s Elly.”  
With a motion she had the guard close the door, leaving him alone in the darkness with thoughts and demons.

==================================================

What. In the name of Arceus. Was that? He knew everything about me so effortlessly. Does the file have anything on that?  
Elly scanned through the report and noticed that the last page was a document written by Freak himself. In it he claimed to not be a Gijinka, but a Being with a superpower beyond anything like a normal ability. She read carefully, taking every piece of information and trying to sort it in her mind. Activated-Manual? Absolute Mimicry? Passive effect? She paused on the passive section. According to his own words, when Freak meets someone for the first time he automatically copies their powers and learns all their battle data and their name. “Oh don’t tell me you’re buying into that BS.” The guard had noticed what page she was on, and looked at her with concern.  
“What- I wasn’t- I was just looking at everything. I need to know everything about him after all.”  
“He’s crazy. That’s all you need to know.”  
“He knew my name and battle data, how do you explain that?”  
“He’s a Ditto. He probably has Imposter and copied you as soon as you entered. Why do you think he has that mask?”  
“.... Yeah that makes sense.”  
“He’s just a killer. A very eccentric one, but still one. Don’t let him get into your head.”  
“... Sure.” She didn’t really buy that. Battle data was one thing, but name and nature? There’s no way he could have known about any of that unless someone told him, and she only got his case two days ago. Who would’ve told him? There’s no way he had any allies, he’s too unstable for that. He’s just a monster, plain and simple. And soon she would be the only thing keeping him in check.

==================================================

What a day to think about murder. Typically not something He would pay mind to, but this was an exception. A Seviper, electrocuted to a crisp and with several body parts missing. Her tail, an eye, and even a fang ripped out too. While He had the basic truth on his side, there were just a few points against him. His stupid kickback being one of the main ones. Able to use the powers of anyone He meets with the condition that should said owner of copied powers die, all memories are lost so even if He did meet the dearly departed, He wouldn't know. Also the um.. Whole.. Cameras that caught someone who looked quite a lot like Him around the place where the Seviper worked business. The argument was that it had to be Him because a Ditto can’t mimic the appearance of another non-transformed Ditto which would be easily debunked if anyone had just accepted that HE WASN’T A FUCKING DITTO!  
Mistaken identities aside, he should count himself lucky that the league was a nightmare of bureaucracy which allowed him to fight the gyms. Or ‘participate in the grand Kalos league challenge’ as those suits put it. Oh the irony of the same guys who slammed these fucking cuffs on him telling him he should be thankful he was allowed to leave his cell and use his power. He’s still not sure why the cuffs worked on him. It made sense that they restricted some of his abilities, after all he’s been loaded upon Gijinka powers, so the cuffs obviously would stop those, but he’s still got other powers from other Beings, so why were those restricted as well? Who the hell made these fucking cuffs?! He held them up to his face, only the dim green light from his mask's eyes illuminating them. Black bands that covered the three inches below his wrists while only being about half an inch thick. An interesting balance of being noticeable while also not making putting on shirts a massive pain. Very carefully made to do what they do with maximum efficiency and minimum irritation, which is curious. If they were created to hold prisoners, comfort shouldn’t be a priority. So who made them, and why?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Data log  
Weapon Status: Charging

The grieving of the Seviper has finally calmed down. I will never understand why something so inconsequential generates such a reaction. Lysandre even demanded a day long ceremony for such a thing. To think he tried to strongarm the League into expelling the one arrested for the murder which only kept it in the spotlight that much longer. Ridiculous, simply ridiculous. There is work to be done, innovations to be made, mysteries to be discovered! Don’t they know why they work here? This is a place of science, a place where emotion has no value. This is where they all gather to create the future. Granted, none will be around to admire what they’ve contributed to, but there’s no need to worry. For I will be.


	2. That Mask Will Crack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Freak is let out of jail and regrets are had

Elly woke up to the sound of her alarm, going off for the third time that morning, and the snooze button was as tempting as ever. But she set it an hour early for a reason so time to shuffle out and get the day started with a shower. A quick splash of cold to fully wake up and a good amount of hot to relax later, she was set to get packing. First on the check list; checking her pants’ inventory. Potions, ethers, snacks, big fuck off knife, extra goggles, pepper spray, snacks, map and compass, flashlight, phone, snacks, extra batteries, portable chargers, snacks and..... more snacks. Being fair, they were snacks of various qualities and flying requires a lot of energy. Should she pack another bag? Nah, they wouldn't be on the road for more than a couple hours at a time, and she could get into contact with the League whenever. An unexpected bonus was the League paying for all commodities due to her situation, so if she did need another bag she could just grab one from a League building and have Freak carry it. .... No that was a terrible idea, he was barely trustworthy in a jail cell wearing power dampening cuffs, much less outside with anything of hers. Yet here she was preparing to take him as far as he could reach in the league. If she was lucky, he’d flop at the first gym, but if he was that weak she wouldn't be needed. And soon herself will be all she had for a while. What a lovely day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He doesn’t wake up, more breaks out of his trance. Not needing to sleep was one of many perks of being a Being. He had learned a good way to pass time was to meditate, to simply sit and let his mind drift, maybe figure something out that could prove he didn’t do the murder. He found nothing, which was to be expected. A lack of memories tends to make filling in the events around a death rather impossible. And to add onto the unfortunates, he remains completely still while meditating so there’s another point to the Ditto comparison. What kind of species turns into stone when they sleep? Maybe he really was just an incredibly elaborate Ditto. Either way, he’s still himself, and that’s all that mattered. A buzz sounded and the cuffs clashed as they stuck together to keep his hands in a non-threatening placement. A couple minutes later, the Boldore guard opened the door and stood aside for his prisoner to walk out. “Since you’re leaving today, and will be attending the opening ceremony, we need you to be presentable.”  
“My good sir, I am in cuffs, have this mask, and wear clothing that smells like an exhaust pipe of my own free will. ‘Presentable’ is not a word that I have ever cared about being.”  
“Well good for you, but the league does. They’re getting enough flak from-”  
“Yeah, yeah I remember.” He stood up straight and did a spot-on impression of the suit who had visited him with the news. “ ‘The Kalos league is under immense pressure to disqualify you entirely, but as you have yet to legally be declared a criminal some leeway has provided, so it would be appreciated if you were to not call any more attention than you already do.’” He laughs at the end of the mimicry and switches to his normal voice. “Honestly they should’ve left me in here for it. At least I could have called it a ‘seru-mony’. “  
“.... Let’s go.” The guard dragged him away to get a wash and outfitted for the day. All the way he smiled and thought to himself.  
‘What a lovely day.’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elly stood outside the prison as Freak was brought out, now having cleaned up and wearing a fresh white shirt and black pants. The cleansed look was thrown off due to the singed blue jacket he had on, the sleeve cuffs burned off showing the binding cuffs. Now that she could see him in proper lighting she noticed everything about Freak looked like he just walked out of a fire. While his marble white mask was oddly stainless, his skin was ashen to an almost literal degree, and his hair also looked like he stuck his head in a fireplace. His hands were covered with charcoal black gloves that looked like they’d leave a mark on whatever they touched. When he turned around to shout at a guard who tried to shove him forward, she saw that the back had a massive scorch mark on the back. Was there a design there that he burned off, or was the burn the marking he wanted? Once Freak was outside of the gates, they closed leaving only the two of them. Now that the two were properly face to face, Elly could see that Freak was shorter than her by a good four inches. How much of his appearance was something he chose to be and which parts weren't? “So. Where we dropping?”  
“.... We’re going to be walking to-”  
“Walk? Really? Flying is going to be a lot faster-”  
“And a lot more likely that you will try to ditch me.”  
“Ok, why would I do that?” Freak’s mask shifted to show a raised eyebrow. “Seriously explain why, you literally hold the key to my cuffs.”  
“Oh, I’m sorry, I thought you said you could break them, or was that just talk?”  
“...... Bit of both.”  
“Uh-huh.”  
“..... So walking. Not even a bike?”  
“Do I look like someone who owns a bike?” She flapped her wings to emphasize.  
“Fair enough.”  
Elly moved behind Freak and pushed him lightly to get him to start walking. “As I was saying, we’re heading to Aquacorde where there will be a ceremony to start off your league challenge with the other challengers. You don’t need to do anything other than be there.”  
“I think we both know that I’m not going to just ‘be there’. There’s going to be a lot of action.”  
“If you try anything-”  
“I meant other people. Everyone thinks I brutally killed someone and am only participating thanks to red tape and loopholes. It doesn’t matter what power you may have, there are going to be either people who have a sense of justice, or want to try and thin out the field of competition who will try to take me out before I even start. So unless you’re absolutely certain you can take on a crowd of league challengers, I am absolutely going to get into a fight.”  
“Oh I think I can take on a few newbies.”  
“Really?” Freak’s doubt made Elly realize that he might not know what her job was.  
“.... Do you not know what I do for a living?”  
“Well unlike you, I did not get a profile on whom I was going to be strapped to for the next while.”  
“I work for the Kalos League as a gym monitor. I fight gym leaders on a regular basis to make sure they’re still capable of doing the duties required of their titles.”  
“Oh. Ooooooooooh. So that’s why you were picked. They needed someone strong enough to keep me in check, but since it’s League season, your position isn’t required right now.” He turned around for a second to look at Elly’s expression. She bit her tongue as she nodded in confirmation. His lingering gaze told her she had made an error in that. “It’s a bit more than that isn’t it? Something that wasn’t told to you, but you at the very least feel is true.” He cocked his head to the side. “Now what could that be....”  
“Stop,” she snapped at him. She remembered seeing him tilt his head when they first met, and she didn’t like what it meant. “No analysis of me. Don’t even try to finish that thought.”  
“Imma think it.”  
“As long as it stays in your head, I couldn’t give a damn.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

‘Now I gotta figure this out.‘ He was thankful for being given something to think about as they walked. She refused to say anything, so that meant that there was something she didn’t like about this job, beside having to follow him around. Not something said directly, but heavily implied. Her job was to check on the strength of gym leaders and fight them, so she’s obviously very strong. But these were gym leaders, so it’s unlikely that she was the only one who had it, that job meant she had to risk being injured all the time. That’s it! She was probably a balanced middle, strong and competent enough so she could be trusted to look after him. But just expendable enough so if something were to happen, say the accused murderer she’s guarding murders her, it’s not anything that couldn’t be replaced. Oh what a treat that was to figure out. He was about to laugh, but remembered the conversation they just had. He was probably going to get into a fight, so perhaps he shouldn’t antagonize the one who he was stuck with. Gotta build that good karma, precious little could for him.  
Wait. Wait. He would need to fight without his powers. That wouldn’t pan out too well for him if it goes on too long or if there are too many. Improvisation was his strong suit, but even that had a limit until the stitches started to snap. But now was a good time as any to plan for that..... “Hey, how far away are we from Aquacorde?”  
“We’re only a couple miles out. At this pace, we’ll be there in under an hour.”  
“Wait, they kept me this close to civilization?”  
“Between myself and those cuffs, you’re not much of a threat.”  
“Oh, hey, is that pride? That an actual emotion coming from you?”  
“Shut it.”  
“You can’t keep being an Ice Queen this whole time, you know. Sooner or later that mask will crack and you won’t be able to patch it, so feel free to actually express yourself!”  
“.... I think I’ll pass.”  
“Fine, but you gotta let it go at some point,” He laughed at his own joke thinking that it was so sad Gabrielle didn’t understand it. Well not like she could, no one could, it was yet another thing that was his alone. His whole shtick was using powers that weren’t his, so that which does belong to only him was to be relished. This mask, this jacket, and all these long lost stories that only lived in his head. Not burden, but a treasured prize to be shared in bits.

===============================================

Data Log  
Weapon Status: Charging

I’ve discovered that my personal cameras have been tampered with. It was likely done by the same culprit who broke into my lab and committed the previous offense. They have been looped, but I’m not sure from when. It will take a couple days to restore the footage given the other work I have. Lysandre has been even more insistent that I focus on his task. I will admit that I am under obligation to do so, he is paying me after all, but the belief that I have nothing better to do is absurd. But I am nothing if not patient, so I will trust the loop was only meant to hide the presence of someone for now. But if something is wrong.... To be considered later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Ello to anyone who may be reading this  
> From this point on, this'll be a monthly update, on the first day of the month  
> I have enough backlog to keep that schedule going for a bit  
> Thanks for your time and I hope you enjoy


	3. No That's Fairly Accurate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Freak tells a room full of people who hate him to go f*ck themselves  
> So nothing out of character here

Aquacorde was both suffocatingly small and uncomfortably gigantic. Normally a quiet place, it was now packed with League challengers of various ages and species. Trying to walk through the crowd alone was disorienting, but with a certain someone in tow....  
“Freak, can you move any faster?”  
“I am trying actually!” If he was then he certainly was failing. His cuffs may have stuck his forearms together behind his back, but that’s no excuse for his legs to not be working properly. He stumbled about while trying to follow her, making what seemed to be an attempt to bump into every person he walked past. “My power makes crowds a pain.” He gestured to all the Gijinka surrounding them. “All these new people with all their summaries being uploaded directly into my mind, you have no idea what that’s like.”  
“Ok, what is this power, exactly? I know you wrote a paper about it, but I’d rather you say it yourself.”  
“Look, it would take hours to explain what I can do properly. For a frame of reference, imagine trying to memorize dozens of songs while they’re all playing at the same time. That’s what I’m dealing with right now.”  
“.... Ok, fine. Here’s what we’re going to do.” She walked behind Freak and looped her arms through his. “Don’t squirm, it’ll throw me off.” She spread her wings, ignoring the shouts of people around her as they moved out of her way.  
“I can only promise to attempt to try,” Given this was Freak, that was as close as she was going to get. Elly flapped her wings and lifted the two of them up into the air, Freak now being the most dangerous piece of carryon luggage. For his part he kept his movement to a minimum, ignoring some kicking when other flying types approached out of curiosity. The drop off point was simple enough to find, after all it was the only building with more than three floors; the League Hall, where all great adventures begin. Cheesy tagline notwithstanding, it was a fitting place as any to start the gym challenge. Close to Santalune, but far away enough from Lumiose that construction costs and traffic weren’t crippling. Elly flew up to the roof and carefully set Freak down as a Furret attendant rushed over with a clipboard in hand.  
“You are Challenger Freak and his escort Elly, correct?” Elly nodded and pulled out her League ID for verification.  
“I am Freak, yes.”  
“Wonderful, now I’m sure you already know this, but for legal reasons I’ll need you to sign these saying that you are aware of the terms that allow you to participate.”  
“That’s a bit difficult at the moment.” Freak turned to show his bound arms. “Unless that’s why you have that.” He nods to a Linoone attendant holding a suitcase with a Lysandre Labs logo.  
“That is for your escort,” The Furret explained. He motioned for the Linoone to hand it to Elly. She opened the case to see a sort of full arm glove made out of what seemed to be the same material as Freak’s cuffs, a black material that wasn’t quite metal or plastic. It was surprisingly light as she put it on, and it fit comfortably, but she couldn’t shake the feeling something was off about it. It reached up to her elbow and felt more like an extension of herself instead of an overly elaborate sleeve, and the snugness was unsettling. Whoever made this knew the exact size that would fit her and she had no idea how they knew to do that. After a couple seconds it turned on and a hologram display popped up from the surface and hovered a couple inches above it. The display featured Freak’s mugshot, mask still on, and a switch and a dial. The switch was labeled ‘Restraints’ that was turned on and the dial was ‘Abilities’ with a number counter at zero. Elly flicked ‘Restraints’ off and Freak’s arms became unstuck. The attendants backed away and Elly kept her finger above the switch.  
“It’s ok, if he tries anything I’ll stop him.” She reassured them. Freak didn’t seem to be doing anything, just stretching his arms.  
“Oh thank Above. Good job Elly, this feels great!” He shouted at her, ignoring that they were three feet apart. He looked at the attendants who backed away from him. “C’mon give me the thing to sign. I am literally powerless right now, and I have no motive to attack you or her. Even if I got that thing from her it’s useless to me.”  
“.... Why is this useless to you?” Elly put her finger closer to the Restraints switch.  
“Because it’s made to be worn on the right arm.” He said this like it was the most obvious thing in the world.  
“... What?”  
“Read my file, it’ll make sense.” He waved dismissively at her and beckoned the Furret over to him so he could sign the papers. After some more convincing he got his signature down. “Now can I go inside? I am the last person who wants me here, so it’s best we just get things over with.” He started to walk over to the roof entrance until the cuffs buzzed and trapped his arms again. When he turned around his mask had changed his eyes to be half closed, Elly guessed in unamusement at her turning the restraints back on. “Really?”  
“Really.”  
“..... Ok, fine, lead the way.” He stepped aside to let her open the door and walked in. She grabbed him and kept Freak in the lead, trying her best to ignore the looks everyone gave the two of them as they walked through the halls. An attendant standing in front of an elevator gave a shout and waved her over.  
“This is challenger Freak?”  
“Yes,” Elly answered for Freak before he could give a quip.  
“Ok, we’re going to need you to let his arms free for this. I know,” He held up a hand before she could protest. “But we have considered a likely possibility of Freak being targeted by other challengers, so we ask that he have freedom of his arms to defend himself.”  
“But I’ll be there-”  
“No you won’t. League rules, only challengers and selected press reporters are allowed in the room, fire hazards and all that” Elly wanted to protest, but if this is what the League had decided on then it wasn’t her place to argue. And in this case, Freak’s actions were on the League, not her. With a sigh she flicked Freak’s restraints free and let him pass into the elevator with the attendant.  
“See ya in a bit, Gabrielle!” Without being given a chance to respond, the doors closed, and Freak waved as he vanished behind them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I am going to get into a fight, you know.” The attendant stayed silent. He was probably scared out of his mind, but his dedication to staying professional stood firm. Well that’s boring. “Ok, serious question, why was I allowed to join? Is that something you were told, or is it above your pay grade?” The offended look the attendant tried to hide told that he did know and was hurt that it was suggested he didn’t. “Ok, could you just spill because I’m not gonna stop asking.”  
“.... To put it simply, we wanted to avoid a troublesome precedent so close to the start of the season. If it was ruled that you couldn’t participate then we would have to define what criminal charges were grounds for disqualification. Things can get competitive, and higher ups are worried that if we decided that being charged, but not convicted, of a crime would result in foul play in an attempt to knock out another challenger. There are several other factors of course. The severity of your charge and the fact that the case against you has some holes, like a lack of motive, meant that there was a fair amount of doubt without further investigation, but there wasn’t enough time for that.”  
“So as a middle ground I got these fucking cuffs.”  
“..... That is what was agreed upon, yes.”  
“I’m guessing it was Lysandre’s idea? I don’t know the guy, but his name keeps popping up.”  
“He employs- I mean employed- your supposed victim,” The attendant kept using non-accusatory language. While appreciated, his flat tone suggested that it was something he had been trained to say instead of it being his own beliefs. That was for the best, because if he didn’t then this ride would be significantly more awkward. “He spent quite a while lobbying to have you removed entirely, but ultimately the decision was left to the Champion.”  
“How kind to know that at least one person has heard of innocent until proven guilty.” The elevator dinged and opened, having now arrived on the bottom floor. A quick walk later and he found himself in an auditorium mostly filled with challengers and-  
“There he is!”  
“Challenger Freak, a few questions before the ceremony begins!”  
“Did you kill that Seviper?”  
“Are you really a Ditto?”  
Fucking paparazzi.... He was quickly swarmed with cameras and microphones from various news stations. He should’ve expected this, a possible murderer taking on the gyms was bound to be major news. But the news was bs to start with, all they wanted from him were words, and those didn’t mean anything.  
“In everyone’s best interest, I will not be answering anything right now. So just shut up and watch the show.” He bowed dramatically to the cameras. “I only seek to entertain.”  
“What do you mean by ‘entertain’?”  
“Are you planning on attacking any of the other challengers?”  
“What are your thoughts on your handler?”  
“Can you explain the document you wrote?”  
The increasing shouts were ignored as he tried to find a seat in an empty area. Unfortunately it seems everyone had gotten into a group and there wasn’t a good spot for him to sit and be alone for the session. Oh, wait, there was a spot. Front left was empty, judging from the angle it made the stage hard to see, but that was fine. A voice was enough to get what was going on. He managed to get over without anything more than a pointed look, and some scared ones when they realized who he was. He plopped down and laid back as the lights dimmed and a voice began to speak.  
“Greetings, challengers, I am so happy to see all of you here today,” Spoke a female voice, smooth and musical, an actress probably. While those lines were definitely scripted, there was genuine emotion. But as he suspected, he wasn’t able to see who it was. “For some of you this might be a brand new experience, while others are more experienced, but that is now why you are here. You are here because you have something to prove. Whether it be to yourself or the world, you want to make a statement. And we at the Kalos league are proud to help you make it.  
“Now this next part is rather boring, I must admit, but I ask that you bear with me. As many of you know, the League consists of eight gyms and you must obtain a badge from each. Truth be told, order doesn’t matter, but of course we recommend you begin with Viola’s gym in Santalune. After winning all eight badges you then will head to Victory Road and the Kalos League Grand Hall where you will fight the Elite Four and the ones they’ve chosen to battle alongside, and then finally you will challenge yours truly for the highest seat of Champion.” Oh. Oh so this was the champion talking. His smile grew, but kept from laughing. This really was the best seat! He spaced out a bit while the Champion continued talking about the more technical details, something about participating in groups, but snapped back to attention when she paused awkwardly. “Now.... There is one more thing that I want to discuss. And that is about a certain challenger-” Wow that was a lot of unhappy people interrupting her. “N-Now I understand your concern.”  
“You’re letting a fucking murderer join in!”  
“What if he tries to kill one of us?”  
“It’s insane!”  
“Everyone, please!” The Champion was trying desperately to regain control. “Please, try not to freak out- oh that was a poor choice of words.”  
“NO THAT’S FAIRLY ACCURATE!” The room grew still as his words spread. Everyone had their eyes on him, but he kept his own closed.  
“I assume you are Freak?” Huh. That was unusual. The Champion said it like an actual name. Oh she is going to be an absolute joy to fight!  
“That is me, yes. Now that I have everyone’s attention allow me to say a few words.” Without waiting for any confirmation he stood and faced the crowd, still keeping the Champion out of his view. “Now let’s start with the obvious part. My guilt. Honestly I’m not going to say anything on that, all of you have already made up your minds on me. My words mean nothing to you, and yours mean nothing to me. So I’ll leave you with this. If you want to try and take me out, to be a hero stopping an evil evil man, or just because you think you’d get away with it, feel free. I’ll take everyone on! It’s why I applied in the first place, I just want a fight. So come at me, challenge me, because I don’t plan on stopping! I’m heading all the way to the fucking TOP motherfuckers!” He paused and basked in the brief silence before the cascade of shouts, death threats, and camera shutters capturing his stance.  
Glorious.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elly was walking back to the roof when she got a call on her phone. A quick look at the caller ID and she instantly answered. She needed a friendly voice right now.  
“Hey, Malva.”  
“Hello, Elly, how is your... luggage?”  
“He just got sent to the opening ceremony.”  
“And you didn’t tag along? Elly dear, you know that you don’t have to follow every rule so seriously.”  
“Weeeeeeell.” There was a pause as Malva processed the guilt in her voice.  
“Oh you naughty girl.” The Honchkrow’s teasing caused Elly to feel her face start to burn.  
“MALVA!” There’s a fair bit of laughter and Elly left for a more quiet place to talk, even just saying the Elite Four member’s name attracted looks. Shouting it out in embarrassment didn’t help either. “Ok look, he’s just incredibly disturbing and I can’t relax with him around. Have you seen his mask? Creepy jagged teeth and those eyes... Where did he even get that thing?”  
“No, you’re fine Elly dear, just from his file I can barely imagine what standing in line for a coffee with him would be like, much less what you’ll be going though.”  
“You’ve read his file?”  
“Have it on my desk right now actually. I mean, you’re one of my monitors, I want to know what you’ll be stuck with for the next few weeks.”  
“Alright, I want you to check something for me. Freak mentioned something about his right arm, and I want to know if there’s anything wrong with it.”  
“One second,” Elly heard papers shuffling. Malva never had a tidy desk, so it surprised her when she got an answer almost right away. “Hm. Well nothing’s wrong with it.... Technically.”  
“Technically?”  
“Well nothing can be wrong with something that doesn’t exist.”  
“... What? It’s what?!”  
“It’s gone. The whole thing, even his shoulder. He’s wearing a metal prosthetic which he claims to have crafted himself. I’m guessing he made his mask in a similar fashion.”  
“But how.... What....”  
“Hey, tell you what, I’m also at the Hall. Let’s meet outside and we’ll look over this thing together. I need some fresh air.”  
“No, it’s fine, I have a copy back-” Elly heard a window open.  
“Too late, Elly dear, see you in a minute!” And Malva hung up.  
“..... Ground level it is.” Elly ran to the roof and started to circle the building looking for a pair of navy blue wings. She first met Malva a couple weeks after evolving into a Togetic when she was first trying to get a job in the League and ended up having a sparring match with her. Elly lost, of course, even with a type advantage Malva was overpowering. But after that the Elite Four member took a liking to her, and acted as.... Well more aunt-like, but Malva insisted that Elly think of her as an older sister giving advice to her lesser experienced sibling. A quick lap around the Hall and Elly spotted Malva on the ground waving up at her. Thankfully she was easy to spot, being mostly dark blue with white plumage around her neck. Elly landed and the two gave each other a quick hug.  
“I see you’ve gotten the glove from Lysandre.”  
“Yeah, it feels a bit... Too fitting if that makes sense.”  
“He’s a bit of a perfectionist, so that’s almost certainly intentional. Come on, let’s grab something to eat,” She led Elly over to a group of food trucks parked around the Hall. The plot was fairly empty since all of the challengers and most of the camera crews were inside the building, so the two got some chicken wings and found a table to sit at without much waiting. “Don’t pinch any of mine, ok? Yours are way too spicy for me, even the bones.”  
“I make few promises.”  
“Hey, unlike you I don’t have constant challengers to fight and do have a news program to host, so gotta watch my diet. Greasy stuff like this I can only enjoy so rarely.” She waved a wing around before popping it into her mouth and eating it bones and all. A perk of being a Honchkrow, they’re made to eat all bits of an animal.  
“You ever think this is some kind of extended cannibalism? You know, since we’re eating another bird? .... Do I count as a bird?”  
“You got feathers and wings?”  
“Last I checked, yes.”  
“Well there you go.”  
“Um.” The two turn to see a few reporters standing nearby. “We were wondering if you would be willing to make a few comments-” One reporter bursted through to shove a mic in Elly’s face.  
“Why did you accept the job of guiding Freak through the gym challenge, and how do we know that you are capable of performing your job correctly?”  
“Hey, shoo,” Malva tried to wave the group away. “If she’s getting interviewed by anyone, it’s me.” Elly watched her as the idea properly registered. “Hey, would you actually be able to-”  
“Maybe later.”  
“I’ll keep an opening.”  
“AHEM. I refer back to my previous questions.”  
“Sigh. Why and how I ended up with this job is my business alone. As for whether or not I’m capable.” Without breaking eye contact, Elly pulled out her knife and stuck it into the table. “I have a reasonable amount of confidence in myself.” The reporter clearly wanted to ask more, but a glance at the knife and the increasingly irritated E4 member convinced them to back away. The pair waited until the cameras had retreated to continue talking.  
“I’m so glad I didn’t accidentally stab my wings,” She worked her knife a bit before it popped out of the table.  
“That is quite the big fuck off knife.”  
“I had it forged from some Skarmory feathers that fell off one of the other monitors.”  
“I was expecting something a bit more metal, but that’s still some creative thinking. Most people would just try to use the feathers alone.”  
“Got the idea from you actually.” Elly gestured at Malva’s top which was coated in feathers from her own wings. “They fell off, and not like they’re gonna get much else use.  
“Aw, I’m touched. And here I was thinking I’d never be able to rub off on you.”  
“Wouldn’t go that far.”  
“Oh, is that a challenge?” The conversation was cut when a flood of challengers entered the area. “Let’s put this on hold, we should probably find your luggage first.”  
“yyyyyyep. Let’s go.” Malva got people to clear an area for the two of them to take off. They soared around trying to find Freak. He was probably still inside, it’s not like the League staff would actually let him lose without her watching him, right? Right? That would be absolutely insane, wouldn’t it? So why did she just hear a battle cry?

“FFFFFRRRRRRREEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAK!!!!”

Arceus damn it all to Distortion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Freak was expecting someone to pick a fight with him after the ceremony, but not that it would be done so efficiently. The crowd was certainly a good cover, but those two trying to be discreet about following him weren’t doing a very good job at not being noticed. Stellar job at keeping the League staff away, though, gotta remember to thank them for that later, assuming they didn’t attempt to fight him for real. But they were, and he knew that, so all he did for the moment was work his way outside with everyone else. He stopped a few feet out the door and turned right around to address his tagalongs.  
“Hey, do you two want any tips on how to be sneaky? I’m rather skilled at it, so maybe listen to what I have to say before trying anything, eh?” There was a bit of a slowdown as everyone tried to figure out who he was talking to, but eventually two people stepped forward. One was obviously a Glameow, spring shaped tail and eternally smug look made that clear as day. The other had purple skin and.... It was brown, but definitely wasn’t hair. Wait was it... “You a Skrelp?”  
“... yes.”  
“Neat.” Ok, that was just some kind of mimic seaweed then. “So what exactly is your plan here? Try to antagonize me into a fight, or just make vague threats? Oh, were you planning on leading with ‘you must think you’re tough shit’?”  
“.... You just really like to take the fun out of things,” Miss Smug walked a circle around Freak stopping with an unimpressed look on her face. “I thought you would be taller. Or have a deeper voice. Are you even really that much of a threat?”  
“I am quite satisfied with my height and voice, but I’m gonna have to take issue with that challenge of my strength.”  
“Oh? Is that a sore spot for you? I mean you are a Ditto, so none of your power is truly yours is it?”  
“No, I just dislike spreading misinformation is all. Also if you’re trying to find something that’ll enrage me that’s not going to work. I have long dealt with my issues, so at best you’re gonna bore me.” That caused Miss Smug to pause. Freak guessed that she figured out that none of her teasing would generate the response she wanted. She turned to Skrelp, can’t think of a nickname right now, and pointed to her face. What was she up to- wait was that acid?  
“AAAAAA! YOU MONSTER!” She screeched as a purple liquid covered her face.  
“He did it! He tried to murder her!” Skrelp shouted while he pointed at Freak. Oh. Ok, highly diluted acid, but enough to look real. It probably did sting, but nothing serious.  
“Huh. Not even mad, that was pretty clever.” Freak gave a golf clap as the crowd moved away to form a circle around him. Skrelp and Miss Smug were still committed to the act and were shouting at the crowd for someone to help. Well hopefully Elly will see this and then everything will be-  
“So you didn’t even bother trying to hide your true intentions did you, you bastard?” Freak turned and looked up to see.... Judging by the pompadour, a Staraptor land behind him. “The League was foolish to allow you to stay.”  
“I mean, you’re not wrong, but not in the way that you think.”  
“Do you really think that you will get away with this?”  
“Given that I have done literally nothing besides talk, yes.” Pompadour opened his mouth to retort, but is cut off  
“Oi, we causin’ trouble? Oh. Well well well, lookie here.” A very round individual shoved his way into the ring. An Electrode given that half white head and eyebrow game. “We got ourselves a little freak, don’t we?”  
“I mean, my name is Freak and I am shorter than you, so that would be an accurate statement.”  
“.... You got a bit of a mouth, don’t you?”  
“I have been informed, yes.”  
“ENOUGH!” Pompadour flapped his wings to get airborne. “You attacked an innocent bystander, if the League won’t do anything about you, I will!” He flew up and dive bombed, readying a Wing Attack. Freak kept an eye on Pompadour’s path and dodge rolled out of the way. It’ll take the flyer a bit to reorient so let’s try diplomacy with the ones on the ground.  
“Now, I know what you’re thinking, and I suggest that you not.”  
“Oh, I’m absolutely gonna.”  
“.... Sure, I can’t stop you.” Roly-poly is definitely gonna try to attack, so just keep an eye on him and try to-  
WHAM  
Oh right. 140 base speed. Freak flew up into the air and then was promptly smacked back down. Roly-poly had charged at him with a Spark and launched him right into Pompadour’s Wing Attack. Ok might be a bit harder than first imagined. First, stand up. Second, take note of position relative to others. “First off. Ow. Second off. You’re really teaming four v one against someone who can’t fight back?”  
“AS IF YOU WOULD EVER FIGHT FAIR!” Staraptor shouted from above. Freak slowly paced around the ring, not looking away from Electrode.  
“OH SHUT UP! And you two.” He spun on his heel to face Skrelp and Glameow. “You’ve stopped screaming for someone who got acid on her face. If you’re waiting to chip in to say you took out a monster, now is the time.” For his question he got his own face full of acid, mostly on his mask, but still annoying. “Really?” A shout comes from behind, so Roly-Poly is making his move. Freak dropped to the floor. Just collapsed and laid down flat. Still got trampled a bit by the big roly-poly, but the Spark-charged ball instead rammed into Skrelp who shoved Glameow out of the way. Unexpected, but not unwanted. Now to get a clear view of-  
“Gotcha bitch!” Miss Smug had decided to stop her act and wrapped her spring-tail around him. Not going to be getting out of this without any powers. “Now apologize and I might let you go. Or else either the guy in the sky, or Electrode will use you as a punching bag. What do you say, you prick?”  
“I will say....” Roly-Poly was getting ready to Spark, so might as well. Freak spun in place bringing him face to face with Miss Smug and took a breath.  
“Uh.” She clearly hadn’t expected that or what was next.  
“FFFFFRRRRRRREEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAK!!!!” That scream wasn’t capable of rupturing an eardrum, but it did what he wanted. Miss Smug covered her ears and Freak spun around fast enough to drag her and shield himself from a direct impact from Roly-Poly. The impact gave him enough slack to wiggle out, and for once he got some good luck and the crowd learned that Roly-Poly was a bigger threat than a powerless supposed Ditto and held him down.  
“Lemme up!”  
“Are you crazy? Thanks to you, two challengers need medical attention!”  
“I want to point out I have done nothing but defend myself.” Lots of angry looks, but they couldn’t deny it.  
“YOUR JOURNEY ENDS NOW!” Shit, forgot about Pompadour. Oh wait, no, he’s stopped why has....  
Buzz  
Oh. Well arms were stuck again. And that was a mad Togekiss.  
“You better have a very good reason for this.”  
“Hello, Gabrielle.”  
“This is your luggage? Well he doesn’t seem very threatening.” A Honchcrow? Wonder what her deal is.  
“I think the pile of bodies begs to differ.”  
“Hey, none of them are mine!”  
“Is that why there’s a bit of a dogpile here?” Gabrielle’s friend hovered over  
Roly-Poly. People walked away from her, so she’s probably important.  
“Yes. And you are?”  
“...... Do you not recognize me?” Gabrielle’s friend questioned him.  
“Nnnnnnnnno.”  
“....... Elly dear, is he being serious?”  
“I... don’t know.”  
“Hm. Well, if you must know, I am Malva of the Elite Four.” Elite Four- damn it! “Why do you look disappointed?”  
“I don’t like having my fights spoiled.”  
“You think you’ll manage to challenge me?” The friend asked as she landed.  
“I wouldn’t have applied if I didn’t think I could.”  
“..... You are a confident one.”  
“You say ‘confident’ but I hear ‘arrogant’.”  
“You said it, not me.”  
“Not my fault if you can’t hide subtext.”  
“AHEM” Gabrielle was getting quite annoyed. Wonder why. “Are you going to fight anyone else, or are you done?”  
“I didn’t even fight-”  
“ARE. YOU. DONE?”  
“I have finished yes.”  
“Good. Malva I’ll be right back, I’m just going to leave him with some League staff,” She grabbed his arms and flew off. “We’ll start heading to Santalune tomorrow.”  
“You spending time with your friend while I wait?”  
“Yes. Forgive me for wanting to indulge in a fun afternoon.”  
“No, I get it. Hey, could I have a power?”  
“No.”  
“Come on, I took some damage and I just want to heal myself.”  
“Then you’ll just have to heal over time like everyone else.”  
“..... Fine.” Not like he was a stranger to pain. More an old friend by now. A toxic friend, but still. Garielle dropped him back on the roof and immediately was surrounded by apologizing League attendants. He wasn’t able to hear much else, because he got shoved inside and put inside an empty conference room with guards outside. Well at least he was left alone. Plenty of time to meditate.

==========================================================

Data log

I have managed to establish a reliable line of communication to keep track of the arrested one, Freak I believe is his name. A bit odd, but given the existing inhabitants of this place, odd is more the normal. I will admit the line is more roundabout than I would’ve liked. From Gabrielle to Malva to Lysandre to me. The relations Malva holds with both leads me to believe that there would be little error in reporting information, but that’s still two people that information must go through before it gets to me. An uncomfortable room for error, nothing that I can’t plan around, but it does make things more concerning. I will attempt to convince Lysandre to allow me to listen in on Malva’s reports. I haven’t been able to start on camera recovery just yet. Will do so tomorrow at the latest.


	4. Did Sir Lysandroth Call?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In today's chapter; Freak refuses to shut up

“Oh wait, need to get a starter.”  
“A what?” It was the morning after the opening ceremony and Freak’s scuffle. It took a lot of interviews, mostly conducted by Malva, but eventually the story of that Glameow and Skrelp trying to set Freak up got out and the League managed to stop any rumors before they spread too far. Elly spent almost an hour getting everything together for the day and then she had to get Freak which took an unexpectedly long time since he was asleep. He called it meditation, but she’s pretty sure there was snoring.  
“A starter power. I need to pick a Pokemon to replicate.”  
“What’s a Pokemon?”  
“Oh, sorry, Gijinka. Keep forgetting it got changed, and I don’t use it as often as I should.”  
“.... Ok, what do you mean by ‘pick’? You’re a Ditto, you don’t choose who to copy.”  
“File.”  
“..... Right that mimicry thing. So let’s assume that you didn’t lie about that. How would you even pick?” He pointed at his arm where she had the glove thing on.  
“I do need my power for this, just for a minute.”  
“...... Fine, but only for a minute.”  
“Thank you.” She fiddled a bit and turned the power counter to 1. “There. Don’t make me regret it.”  
“Alright. Spin the wheel!” Freak’s mask lit up with a display and started to cycle through silhouettes of creatures that Elly didn’t recognize until it slowed and stopped on a weird purple creature with a long tail with a stinger on it and two arms coming out the side of its head. “Drapion, nice! Typing’s great and that defense stat will be helpful.”  
“.....That’s not a Drapion.”  
“It is to me.”  
“What does that even mean?”  
“Nnnnnnot sure, honestly.”  
“... What?”  
“When you say Drapion I think of the buff scorpion, not whatever a Drapion actually looks like.”  
“I.... I’m not gonna bother.”  
“Anyway, let’s take a look. Lax, prefect, Sniper is fine, I like Battle Armor, but it works. Yes! Starting with Knock Off.” Elly flicked off the power switch and Freak’s mask reset back to showing his eyes which shifted into angry eyes. “Hey, I was still looking at those! And I need that for the other routes.”  
“If we get attacked, I’ll turn it on, but not before. If the routes matter to you, make a list.”  
“I already did. Route 2, 3, and Santalune Forest plus a small detour to 22 once we get to Santalune City. I know where my encounters are.” Elly considered not asking, but curiosity got the better of her.  
“Encounters?”  
“Oh, right, you guys wouldn’t know about challenge runs. One second.” Freak’s mask changed to display him now wearing glasses. “See it goes like this. You get the first encounter for each new area and that’s your lot for the entire place. If that mon you caught faints then you gotta release it. It was referred to as a ‘challenge run’. Think another name was floated for it, inspired by the first who tried it, but it didn’t catch on.”  
“I know what most of those words mean when separate, but in that formation they make no sense.”  
“..... Everytime we go somewhere new I randomly pick a power to use. If I am downed when I use that power, then I shelve it.”  
“Getting better, but still obscure.”  
“Oh dear, is the luggage acting up again?” Malva circled above them. She seemed to be focused on Freak as she landed, but only spoke to Elly. “They really should’ve put a muzzle on him, honestly don’t know why they let him keep that mask.”  
“I bit at anyone who tried.”  
“Further proving my point, I see.”  
“If someone tried to rip your feathers out, would you just let them?”  
“Depends on who it is and what the occasion happened to be. After all. it’s useful to have help during molting season and I need help getting loose feathers out. Not all contexts are bad.”  
“Ok, bad read, I’ll ring you up when I got a better similie.”  
“You do that- Oh! I can’t believe I almost forgot. Elly dear, could you offer me your arm?” Malva pulled out her phone and held it above the arm glove until a ding sounded. “Ok, now I just have to open this and....” The arm glove vibrated with the words ‘Incoming Call’ being displayed. Elly hit ‘accept’ and Malva’s face was projected in front of her. She looked back and forth between the hologram and the actual Honchkrow in front of her.  
“Wait- how- What?!”  
“The power of science is amazing, Elly dear.” The hologram moved in almost perfect synchronization with its feathers and blood counterpart. “Since you are employed under me, you’ll be reporting the day’s events to me with this every night. Or whenever I call you because I got bored, so keep an open schedule.”  
“I can do that too,” They look at Freak who is pointing at his arm again. “Look, it’s going to be easier if you just leave me on one power. Again, I would be incredibly dumb to try and run from you or attack you, especially with Miss E4 here, so c’mon.”  
“Again, no.”  
“Eh, let him have a bit Elly dear. If he tries anything we can smack him into the ground.” She hesitated for a bit, but conceded that Malva had a point and allowed Freak one power.  
“Thank you. Now one moment.” Freak’s mask displayed a spinning beach ball and a couple seconds later a mini-Freak hologram popped from the arm glove and waved at Elly. She resisted the urge to wave back to the chibi version of the creature in front of her. “Thank you. Anyway, do we got anything else, or can we go now? Please I want to get these encounters and prepare for the gym.”  
“Encounters?” Malva asked, for the first time looking at Freak with uncertainty.  
“Gabrielle can explain.”  
“I don’t think I can.”  
“Make an attempt. Now is mafia birb coming along or what?”  
“What did he just refer to me as?”  
“Don’t encourage him.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh, fun, Mafia Birb decided to join. Well, at least she would put Gabrielle in a good mood. Over a canal and through the woods, to the first gym they go. Well, just that over the canal bit, because a notification popped up.  
“Hold up, getting my Route 2 encounter.”  
“Ok so.... This happens every time you get to a new named area?” Mafia Birb was trying to understand it, but clearly wasn’t getting a few pieces. Not that complex really, but then again she wasn’t the one who has the mask on her face.  
“Dunno, this is the first time this has happened.” Elly shrugged as the mask started playing the encounter theme, and the virtual grass gave away to reveal....  
“Chandelure.”  
“Why do you sound neutral on it? I thought you’d like having something that strong right off the bat.”  
“Well, yes, but it’s also a Stone evo, so it won’t learn any new moves and who knows when I’ll get to a move tutor.” Bag. Pokeballs. And throw. Good thing that Route 2 is a guaranteed catch. “Never been too big on stone evos, but only really particularly dislike friendship ones.  
“What the distort are friendships evos?”  
“Aw, massive pain to evolve. No set level, you just have to wait for an invisible meter that’s near impossible to figure out an exact measurement for and-” Wait. “...... You don’t know what friendship evos are?”  
“Lysandre Labs and its professors have identified many forms of evolution. Ones influenced by time of day, Inkay’s whole having to be upside down thing, and obviously ones that require certain stones.” Mafia Birb pointed to herself and Gabrielle. “And training with certain items, like Weavile and Gliscor. Friendship evolutions aren’t something anyone has heard of.”  
“But Gabrielle is one. Togepi to Togetic.”  
“No I’m not.”  
“So how did you evolve?”  
“Gaining exp through combat, like everyone else.” No. No that couldn’t be right, could it? That wasn’t how Togepi worked. But did that mean....  
“Are trade evos also not a thing?”  
“.... No.”  
“Ok, what about Escavalier and Accelgor?”  
“Um.... Malva you know this one?”  
“According to Lysandre Labs research, Shelmet and Karrablast need to be near each other to evolve. We’re still not sure why. But this is all fairly well known, have you been under a rock for the last few decades?”  
“I have been quite happy being alone. Hell, I didn’t even come to Kalos until a few years back when I just wandered here.” Ok, not entirely true, but close enough.  
“So you didn’t meet anyone who could’ve told you this?” Was that curiosity from Gabrielle or annoyance? She was still dedicated to being an Ice Queen so he wasn’t sure.  
“I mean, probably did, but my kickback hinders what I can learn.”  
“My, you’re really insistent on that power thing.” Mafia Birb shook her head in a false pity, how kind of her. “I understand wanting to be more than you are, but being fancy about it isn’t going to change that you’re a Ditto.” Ok, no.  
“Look, it’s up to you whether or not you want to believe me, but I do not lie about my power. It is a more fundamental part of me than my own name, so I will ask that you respect it.” For her credit, Mafia Birb didn’t flinch despite how close he had gotten- and that was a knife in his face.  
“Back. The fuck. Up.” Gabrielle thought she was threatening, adorable. Let’s just push that away, wouldn’t want anyone to have been hurt.  
“Gabrielle, you really need to get better at sensing hostility. Or... Sensing a lack of it I guess.”  
“How about this?” buzz click. Well there went the arms.  
“.... Dick move.” MB grabbed his mask and shoved him out of her personal space.  
“Move, dick.”  
“Thought you were classy, Birb.”  
“Oh I am, just not to anyone like you.” Not unreasonable, but fine. Gabrielle left powers on, so encounters were still on the table. Speaking of which, Santalune Forest. Spin the wheel!  
“Hm.”  
“What?” Ok, maybe it was good that MB tagged along because it seemed that Gabrielle wasn’t interested.  
“Bayleef. I mean, not terrible, Meganium can take a hit, but doesn’t hit as hard as I would like and level up moveset isn’t the best. But it’ll work as my Grass type for now. Ooo starting with Poison Powd- AWW. Fucking minus Special Attack nature. Definitely switching out as soon as possible.”  
“I desperately want to stop questioning him, but I can’t, I don’t know how you do it, Elly dear.”  
“You need to spend more time with the gym leaders.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Santalune Forest was as tranquil as ever. Beams of light poking through the trees and a well worn path underfoot lined by tall grass and trees covered in moss gave it a peaceful aesthetic. It’s a nice place to relax and get away from everything. And Freak seemed determined to leave the place as quickly as possible. “It seems your luggage wants to be the one dragging for once,” Malva noted.  
“Hurry up! Sooner I beat the gyms, the sooner I can leave you.”  
“I pray to Arceus that Viola sweeps the floor with him.” Elly knew that wouldn’t happen, but might as well try.  
“Why not save him for me? I’ll make sure you’re there in person.”  
“As great as that sounds, I think we both know the League wouldn’t let me anywhere near the Elite Four’s chambers.”  
“Eh, rules can be bent,” Malva waved the concern away. “What’s the point in having power if you can’t occasionally abuse it? Besides, Diantha owes me a favor, I’m sure she’ll help them see the light.”  
“Hm.” The woods gave way to Route 3. Freak stood staring at the route’s marker.  
“Route 3. Every region insists on using numbers for their routes, and I never understand it. Anyway, wheely time.” His mask stopped on an image of a round blue creature with whiskers that seemed to form a thick moustache.  
“Sealeo?” Malva pretended to twirl a moustache. “Guessing because of that facial hair.”  
“Correct, Malva, five points.”  
“Thank-”  
“Don’t.”  
“Ok, let’s see.... Above damn it, Adamant. Do have Thicc Fat, so that’s helpful.”  
“Wait, no, stop,” Malva held the bridge of her nose. “Could you repeat that ability.”  
“Thicc Fat.”  
“.... Did you- Was that-” Malva gave Elly a pleading look. “Please tell me you heard the extra ‘C’.”  
“I did and I hate it.”  
“How is that possible?”  
“It’s all in the pronunciation.”  
“Pronounce it like that again, and I’m making sure you can’t use that power ever again.”  
“We both know I can’t make that promise with any form of sincerity, Gabrielle.”  
“Oh dear Arceus, do you need to word everything as complicated as possible?” She didn’t mean to shout, but this was finally starting to wear her down.  
“Yes.”  
“.....” Elly took a deep breath while she started to collect herself back into her, as Freak dubbed it, Ice Queen mode. “Move. Now. And no talking or I’m locking your arms for the gym battle.”  
“Now that’s just not fair.”  
“Ahem.” Malva put a hand on Elly’s shoulder to stop her from responding. “Or how about we put that mouth to something useful?” She pulled out a recording device and waved it at Freak. “No one’s been able to get a solid interview with him because he’s been locked up since the killing. And this would be just the perfect segment to run tonight. A little ratings booster to appease the corporate overlords for a while.”  
“And I’m going along with this because....”  
“Because I say so,” Elly held up the arm-glove and Freak’s eyes turned to their unamused look.  
“.... Ok, fine, where do you want to start?” At his acceptance, Malva grinned and started the recording. Elly turned away to calm herself, but listened to the conversation.  
“Good evening Kalos, and welcome to an exclusive interview with the infamous gym challenger: Freak. We’ll keep things simple to start. So first, something that I’m sure everyone is wondering; is that your real name?”  
“It is a very real name, but to be less pretentious no it’s not the name I’ve always gone by. I picked it a few....” He started to count on his fingers but gave up after a moment. “Ok, not sure what metric of time I’m working with, but it was a long time ago, and no I’m not telling you what I used to be called.”  
“Fair enough, next question, why do you dress like.... That?” She gestured to his mask and burned jacket. “And how does that mask work exactly?”  
“So first bit, I dress like this because I think people judge on appearances far too quickly. Clothes, faces, and a certain lack of limbs can sway someone’s opinion before even hearing them say a word. They look at the surface and assume the overall, so I hide as much as I can.”  
“To play Giratina’s advocate, what would be fair, if anything, to assume about a person based on appearance?”  
“Well if we have to, you gotta look at the subtleties. For example, let’s look at Gabrielle.” Hearing that damned full name again, she turned around and held her finger above the restraint button.  
“No you’re not.”  
“Elly dear, please? Worst case I can ask to edit this out.” Malva had the look of a reporter in her eyes. Right now she had a great story and didn’t want to miss any of it, even if she has to keep a bit to herself.  
“.... Fine.”  
“Cool, so let’s start at the top. Goggles imply that she flies at high speeds and fairly often, given the wear on them. Nothing special on the upper body, so let’s move to the pants. I think I know why girls’ outfits never have pockets, she’s stolen all of them. Seriously how much storage space do your legs carry?”  
“Enough.”  
“Anyway. Given that she can probably fit the moon in there, she’s got stuff for any situation, and I feel like several self defense tools. Not sure why, because according to everyone, I am a Ditto and she probably has Aura Sphere and the math from there isn’t exactly Calculus. Sorry, got sidetracked, that happens.”  
“I’ve noticed.”  
“So back onto me, the mask. I made it myself after my arm. Both are created to be able to channel my power, which is why the mask can do its more complex displays. Even without my power active it can read my facial expressions and change the eyes accordingly.”  
“I understand that, but why have the mouth glow when you’re talking?”  
“Just a thing I wanted to have.”  
“Everyone likes their personal touches. Now for something a bit less important, but still has me curious. What exactly made you decide to apply for a shot at the league? Dozens and dozens participate every year, and incredibly few have succeeded to beat the gyms much less successfully clear the E4, if I’m allowed a humble brag. So what exactly makes you think that you can go all the way to the top?”  
“You are comparing the average gym challenger to me, the average fight enjoyer. Others may look for glory or to prove their abilities, but my motives are purely selfish ones. I just enjoy a good fight. Something to excite me, something that gets my blood flowing, and the satisfaction of victory at the end of it. I wanted to take on the gyms because there’s nothing that I love more than an all out brawl.”  
“You certainly make it clear that fighting is a passion of yours. A very extreme one at that.”  
“..... Ok, let’s not circle this, this is what everyone is gonna be soundclipping, so ask it.”  
“I thought you would want to avoid that topic.”  
“And I thought that you wanted good ratings.”  
“That I do, so I suppose it’s time to move into the nitty gritty. View discretion is advised from here on out.” She paused for a moment, probably to give people time to change the channel, and then asked the obvious question. “Did you commit the crime?”  
“No.”  
“If not, then why do you think that you were arrested?”  
“Because apparently I was hanging around the area at the approximate time of the murder.”  
“‘Apparently’?”  
“Ok, look, here’s what I’ve pieced together. For some reason I was near Lysandre Labs and I was in all likelihood called there by the one who died. I say this because I don’t remember any of it.”  
“Last I checked, amnesia isn’t the greatest alibi.”  
“It’s not my fault that’s my power’s kickback. Do you have any idea how annoying it is to not remember people when they die?” Freak’s tone seemed to tell he wasn’t lying, but then again who would be honest about a murder?  
“Well, going along with that, wouldn’t you remember, say, standing over a body? I mean surely you would remember the aftermath, since that would be after the victim had died? After all, the coroner’s report showed that they would’ve died almost instantly from the wounds.”  
“I mean…” Something was off in his voice. For once he didn’t sound casual, more like he was trying to figure out how to word his next sentence. “Yeah, my power would allow that. Someone dies in front of me, I’ll remember seeing their body, but nothing about them when alive. But still, nothing like that is in my head.”  
“And why should we take your words at face value, especially when you cover your own?”  
“Because I make a point to not lie. Actions matter above all else, but words are still important. If you lie, then that cheapens the worth of your words and it means every time you speak there will be doubt in those who listen. Also I just don’t like lying, not quite sure where I got that from, but it’s something that I’ve never seen the appeal in.” Again, he seemed to be completely sincere about this. But he had to be lying, there’s no way any of that could be true. He had shown his skill in analysis so he had to know what most people would be willing to buy. He's a murderer who had a lot of devotion to the act he created. He’s just a freak.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mafia Birb pried a bit more, but everything that could be said had been. She did an outro and clicked the recording off.  
“That enough?”  
“Plenty, thank you for talking.”  
“Anytime. Really all people need to do is ask, I’m happy to talk. Though I don’t seem to convince many.”  
“Well that’s how the show goes. I don’t deceive, but if they would rather believe that I’m guilty, sure, fine be like that.” That was directed at Gabrielle and sure enough, she turned and made eye contact before facing away again. “I’m not going to try and prove my innocence, but it’s not like I’m just going to say I did a crime that I didn’t because that’s what people want.”  
“That may be true, but maybe you shouldn’t hide things if you don’t want that to happen.”  
“Eh?”  
“Luggage, I’ve been at this job for a loooong time, I know when someone tries to hide something. To your credit it was only once. But a curious once.”  
“.... Suddenly I like you a lot less and I didn’t know that was possible.”  
“In my line of work, enemies are common. And I have worse mad at me than a Ditto in cuffs.”  
“You know if you keep trying to downplay me, that only makes me more motivated to curbstomp you.”  
THUNK  
What was- Oh, Gabrielle stabbed a tree, how cute. “Elly dear, you don’t need to keep coming to my defense, I can do it well enough.”  
“But he-” Mafia Birb cut Gabrielle off as her phone rang and answered without hesitation. She walked away, so words weren’t getting across, but the tone was legible. Oh? That’s an interesting emotion there. Given the way the words were said… An educated guess could be made to who the other person was.  
“So sorry Elly, I need to go.”  
“Did Sir Lysanderoth call you to his palace?”  
“It’s Lysand- ... wait,” There it is. The best expression. Fear, confusion, and shock all mixed together into a look of an utter lack of comprehension. “H-how did.... What did you do? How could you have known that?!” Was that fury or embarrassment?  
“Malva-”  
“No! I want him to answer.” Both it seems.  
“Well before every time you said the name ‘Lysanderoth’-”  
“Lysandre.”  
“Yeah that, even there. You linger on it. Not for very long, but enough. You normally speak with precision, in a way where you don’t spend any longer on a syllable than you need to. But with that name you spend time on it. You don’t want to finish saying it. You have a connection to that person, one that you treasure. And your tone on the phone call was also a massive indicator that it was someone you rather enjoyed talking with. And for an added bonus you left to be out of earshot. Something you didn’t want either of us to hear. If it had been for the League or your news show you wouldn’t bother moving so far away, but for something a bit more personal.... Well you want your privacy. Also the way you reacted to my guess earlier, that was me just doing a hail mary and I’m so happy I was right.” It’s hilarious really, but that opinion was of one. Gabrielle pulled Mafia Birb aside and the two had a hushed conversation that lasted even longer than the interview. Once that was done, a quick hug and Mafia Birb was out of there. And a knife was in here.  
“I swear if you do something like that again-”  
“What? Talk? I haven’t lifted a finger to her. Gotten a bit close for intimidation factor, sure, but it’s not like I’ve threatened to cause great harm. Any reference I’ve made to any kind of violence directed at her is all in context of my eventual Elite Four battle. Nothing more, nothing less.”  
“Bull. Shit.”  
“Up to you to believe me, doesn’t change that it’s true.”  
“Oh because being truthful is so important to you?”  
“Well, no, but yes, actually.”  
“Then why did you hide something?” ... Was he really that obvious? “When Malva talked about a scenario where someone died in front of you, you took a second to answer.” Apparently he was. “So either you’re lying or you’re hiding something.”  
“It’s Door B, but I’m the one who has the key and I’m not about to open it.”  
“Can that same logic be applied to your mouth?”  
“You’re really focused on my speech, aren’t you?”  
“A single letter out of your mouth is as much of your voice as I will ever need to hear.”  
“Well you’re going to be getting a few dictionaries’ worth.”  
“And if I ask about my theories of your secret?” She wouldn’t....  
“That’s not fair.”  
“Oh so I can?” .... She would. Above damn it all.  
“.... I liked it better when you only had the knife.”  
“Well now I got a verbal one. Funny that it’s more effective. No metal arm to protect against it, I suppose.”  
“Being fair, I wouldn’t feel more threatened by the knife if I had my flesh and blood arm back.”  
“You’re a Ditto, you have no blood.”  
“I-....” Wait, does he have blood?  
“What?”  
“Sorry, just don’t remember a situation in which I’ve bled, so you might actually be right about that. We’ll need to wait to meet another Being to figure out.”  
“Another what? Actually, no. Don’t answer that. We’ve wasted enough time as it is, and we still need to get to Santalune. Move.” Didn’t need any more motive than that. Still have Route 22 to check in on, though. Then it’ll be time to fight the first gym. What fun it’ll be. After so long in cuffs, a good and proper fight.  
What a victory it’ll be.

=================================================================

Data Log

Freak may be of an even greater concern than previously thought. Before I thought he was simply an eccentric sociopath. A Ditto who learned a loophole and took joy in exploiting it. But he’s not. Malva reported unusual creatures appearing on his mask, him randomly choosing a power to copy, and tales of non-existent forms of evolution.  
I didn’t think it was necessary before, but this made me read his file.  
I should have read it much sooner.  
I know who he is, by a different name, and the power he wields. After all, we both worked for the same benefactor who was more than happy to talk about his former friend from time to time.  
To keep things brief, Freak is a Being who was around when the Ultimate Weapon was first fired and somehow survived. I don’t know how, I can only guess, but no one reasoning stands out. The most likely one is that he’s copied enough regeneration powers that he could have taken the hit mostly unscathed, though the millennia of isolation seems to have done more damage.  
He is from the world before, but at the same time remembers none of it. The most pressing questions now are what he is planning, has he made contact with our shared benefactor, and just how much, if anything, does he know about that day 3000 years ago.


End file.
